Auguste Perret

Perret, Auguste (ōgüstˈ pĕrāˈ) [key], 1874–1954, French architect. He left the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris to join the family construction firm with his brother Gustave, and began to experiment with the new building material, reinforced concrete. Early works in Paris, such as the house on the rue Franklin (1902–3), the Garage Ponthieu (1905–6), and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1910–11), show the use of reinforced concrete in a classicizing framework of posts and beams. In the latter two buildings the concrete frame is itself exposed in some areas. Perret's famous church at Le Raincy, near Paris (1922–23), is perhaps the first architecturally satisfactory building in the new material. Tall, lithe columns support low-arching vaults, and the structure is surrounded by a continuous wall of glass supported by prefabricated concrete units. In warehouses and factories Perret also made use of concrete vaulting. After World War II he contributed plans for the rebuilding of parts of Le Havre, Amiens, and Marseilles. He is considered one of the most important French architects of his generation.